‘Bomber’ Kavanagh’s Kinahan Crime Empire Busted in UK
Irish crime boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh, 54, top dog of the notorious Kinahan cartel, has been slammed with a hefty 21-year jail sentence. The hardened gangster ran a sprawling drugs, firearms, and money laundering empire right from his bulletproof mansion in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Fortress Mansion Raided: £35k Stashed in Sofas
When the National Crime Agency (NCA) stormed Kavanagh’s fortified home in January 2019, they uncovered an arsenal of weapons, including an illegal stun gun that earned him a separate three-year sentence. Officers also found £35,000 in cash stuffed in drawers, bags, and even down sofa cushions.
Massive Drug Haul Worth £30 Million
The crackdown extended far beyond the mansion, targeting Kavanagh’s associates, Dublin-born brothers-in-law Gary Vickery, 39, and Daniel Canning, 43. The trio admitted to smuggling class A and B drugs into the UK, amassing an estimated street value of £30 million, and laundering the profits.
At Ipswich Crown Court on 28 March, Canning received 19½ years, and Vickery 20 years behind bars for their parts in the criminal ring.
How The NCA Dug Out The Gang
- The investigation kicked off in early 2016, with Irish police linking shipments to Midlands freight firms tied to the gang.
- A massive drugs bust in October 2017 at Dover uncovered 15 kilos of cocaine and 220 kilos of cannabis hidden inside an industrial tarmac removal machine rigged with a tracker.
- Raids on industrial units in Wolverhampton and Wednesbury uncovered more drugs, a handgun with ammo, and tracking devices.
- Vickery’s home in Solihull yielded five 25-kilo barrels of boric acid (used to cut cocaine), a cash counting machine, £43,000 and 200,000 Euros in cash.
- Encrypted messages showed Kavanagh was the ‘Gaffer’ – the mastermind coordinating drug shipments across Europe.
- Kavanagh was arrested at Birmingham Airport returning to the UK on 12 January 2019.
NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Matt Horne said: “Kavanagh was a high ranking member of the Kinahan cartel, an organised crime group synonymous with acts of violence. He was their main man in the UK. They considered themselves untouchable, but we systematically dismantled the group and proved otherwise.”
The gang pleaded guilty in July 2020, though sentencing was delayed due to legal wrangling, Covid-19, and Vickery’s extradition from Lanzarote. Co-conspirator Martin Byrne died of cancer in August 2018 before facing charges.
